Pubdate: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 Source: Florida Today (FL) Copyright: 2002 Florida Today Contact: http://www.floridatoday.com/forms/services/letters.htm Website: http://www.flatoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/532 Author: Craig Chamberlin DRUG WAR HAS MANY ENEMIES The current debate about the drug war so far has missed the point. The debate should not be about the addictive properties of certain substances. Rather, it should address the aggressiveness of government in the following areas of your life. Property rights -- If your body is not your property, then your "real" property has no chance against asset forfeiture without due process. Privacy rights -- The regulations on bank accounts and cash transactions trample your rights to be secure in your finances. Patients' rights -- Substance "A" is OK for medicine. Substance "B" will get you arrested. Human rights -- You do not control what goes into your body. Government does. Gun rights -- High-profit drug crime fuels gun registration and confiscation efforts. Crime -- Black market drug prices promote crime and violent criminal enterprises. Corruption -- The drug war corrupts officials -- government and otherwise -- worldwide. Justice --Mandatory minimum sentences are filling our jails with nonviolent people at a cost of $25,000 to $30,000 per person per year. Public school kids in Brevard get just $5,800 a year. Check out the many positions of the Libertarian Party at our Web site: www.lp.org CRAIG CHAMBERLIN Cocoa Beach - --- MAP posted-by: Josh